


discounts before prime time

by rockthecliche



Category: Johnny's Entertainment, KAT-TUN (Band), Kanjani8 (Band), NewS (Band)
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-03
Updated: 2012-02-03
Packaged: 2017-10-30 13:29:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/332246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockthecliche/pseuds/rockthecliche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe the only valuable lesson learned this July 4th is that he needs to stop thinking so much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	discounts before prime time

**Author's Note:**

> For kaminikaku for the second JE Just Friends cycle! There's a ton of Johnny's in here, I'm just too lazy to list them all out. |D;;

His manager picks him up for the days' photoshoots and interviews with Eito. Ryo barely has his eyes open as he stumbles out of the car and towards the building, clutching the small bundle of messages from his manager in his hand. He doesn't really care he's crumpling them up to hell and back. All he wants is coffee...and maybe a breakfast sandwich. He hopes Yasu brought him one.

Unfortunately, there is no breakfast sandwich and the coffee is watered down, cold, and tastes like shit. He has a headache the size of a good, solid watermelon, Jin calls and bleats about getting fucked up that night for his birthday, and to top it all off, one of the messages from the stack his manager gave him is actually from Tegoshi, formally requesting his presence at Massu's birthday party in the same evening. Formally requested but _highly recommended_ , especially because Ryo has never shown up once before. His manager’s neat, prim handwriting is mocking him to the very last dot.

So he starts the day grumpy, decaffeinated, unfed, aching, and feeling like a douchebag.

Fucking ace.

 

 

The rest of Eito are quick to ask Ryo what's wrong, mostly because when Ryo's in a bad mood, his face gets all dark and cloudy and surly. They have a shoot with children today -- they'd feel better giving Ryo a fighting chance to win one of them over, but he'd never be able to do it in the mood he's in right now.

So Ryo tells them what's up and much to his surprise, a few of his groupmates have already RSVP'd. Ryo didn't even know that this was open to the public.

"I'm going to Jin's with Taguchi," Yoko pipes up, smiling all smug; they all know he's going to blather on about how cool he feels all night. Ryo's not sure if he, subsequently, wants to be around that for any length longer than five minutes.

"Yassan and I are going to Massu's," Ohkura, surprisingly, joins in. Yasu grins. It's kind of easy to figure out why Yasu would go -- Yasu and Massu are kindred spirits that can burn the retinas off the people in a twenty kilometer radius with their fashion choices alone. As for Ohkura, all it took was a shrug and the word 'food' and Ryo didn't need to ask any more. At the end of the day, he's surprised Tokyo hasn't already suffered a food shortage from the combined appetites of Ohkura and Massu alone.

Subaru mentions going to Massu's just because he's better friends with Tegoshi than he is with Jin, which seems pretty legit. Maru and Hina are staying out of this as they both made prior plans. Ryo thinks they're both full of shit.

Even with all this waffling, though, he's not really sure what to do, and eventually he steals a few minutes to call the only other person he knows that could possibly help him with his dilemma: Pi.

"Isn't the answer kind of obvious?" Pi says, yawning like he's still sleeping or bored of the conversation. Chances are it's the latter, but Ryo likes to think he's more important to his other best friend than that.

"Just go to both parties," Pi continues, sounding distracted. There's another sound in the background, like he's getting out of bed. He probably _was_ in bed. "Jin would never let you live it down if you skipped his, and Massu's nice enough to only keep you for a relatively short amount of time."

He has a point, but then Pi's not the one who got a cold, formal request from Tegoshi to show tonight. Besides, he's sure that the reason why he's even in this predicament is because he constantly took Massu's ever present complacence for granted. _"I don't have to do anything for Massu, he'd understand."_ Ryo's fairly convinced that this sort of thinking is why he's currently stuck between a rock and a cliff. What if all these years of neglect on the one day that was actually important left a toll on the man? The group? He'd never hear the end of it from Koyama for breaking their beloved Massu's spirit.

"You're thinking too much," Pi speaks up except by now, Ryo already knows the only course of action he could possibly take that would, perhaps, solve everything.

"I gotta go," Ryo says, flipping his phone shut before Pi could get a chance to say anything else.

 

 

He doesn't think about birthday gifts until the interviews and shoots are almost over, and he almost catches himself thinking that hey, Massu's just lucky that Ryo finally got it through his head that he should make an appearance this year. Once he realizes that this is exactly the type of thinking that got him into trouble to begin with, he decides that he really needs to cut that shit out...at least for today.

He has his manager go out and buy something for Massu because he just doesn't have the time, and even though it makes him feel like a bigger douchebag for it. He makes absolutely sure that his manager understands that he is to send him pictures of what the man is thinking about buying, just so Ryo can at least have some sort of say and doesn't end up going through this completely blind. His manager sends him a flurry of pictures and they finally settle on a bright yellow belt with giraffes and starfish on it, the belt buckle made to close like the seatbelt buckles in cars. All in all, it makes Ryo want to gouge his eyes out -- it's perfect. His manager texts him back, telling him that he'll take care of the wrapping and stuff -- Ryo needs to just concentrate on his job.

A camera malfunction puts them behind schedule by an entire hour and a half and by the time Ryo manages to finish for the day, he's already forty minutes late for Massu's party. Subaru tags along with him as he nearly sprints out the dressing room, obviously in a rush, and he figures they'll meet up with Yasu and Ohkura later.

"So you're going to Massu's?" Subaru asks.

Ryo shrugs. "Yeah."

"What about Akanishi?" Subaru wonders out loud.

"His too."

Subaru just looks at him.

Ryo sighs. "Look, I...have a plan. I'll make it work."

Subaru looks apprehensive. Ryo doesn't blame him -- Ryo's plans never work.

 

 

His manager picks him up and drops him back off at his apartment -- he may be astronomically late, but he doesn't think Massu would really like it if he showed up sweaty and gross smelling, either. He takes a quick shower and freshens up as best as he can in the least time possible -- a few liberal spritzes of a light cologne, his favorite cap, birthday gift in hand, and he's out the door.

He doesn't know why he thought the contrary, but the party for Massu is a lot more kickin' than he thought it would have been, especially considering Massu's usual habit of staying at home. It's a little obvious that Tegoshi is the one who planned most of it, though, if the bar everyone's gathered at is of any clue. It's not as decked out as some of the other bars that Ryo frequents, but it has a nice, understated appeal -- bumping and grinding isn’t the main attraction of the joint, but rather the live music and abundance of tables and seating, establishing it as a place to unwind, relax, and maybe meet someone new. He arrives just as Nakamaru’s struggling to carry four drinks from the bar and he decides to not be a total ass. He tucks Massu’s birthday gift underneath his arm, reaching out to help the poor sap some. Nakamaru looks aghast for a second, eyes staring at him like he’s some sort of extraterrestrial, but complete professionalism takes over and after a quick, “thanks”, Ryo follows him to where the party is.

It seems that Tegoshi managed to snag one of the back alcoves that offer a bit of privacy, even though Ryo's pretty sure nothing too scandalous could happen at this particular party, but a little bit of discretion was always preferred by the agency. The more Ryo thinks about it, though, the more he believes it was probably at the request of Koyama -- Tegoshi has no sense of discretion. The rest of NEWS did. At any rate, at least Nakamaru doesn't try to start any small talk; Ryo doesn't know what he'd say to him, anyway. Maybe he feels that Ryo is completely out of his element, though, because he does offer to buy him a drink later. However, this only proceeds to make Ryo feel like he's suddenly being wooed, and he heartily refuses.

Ohkura and Yasu are already there when the table comes into view, which surprises him until he realizes that they probably came right after they were done at the shoot today. They’re both busy inspecting things, Ohkura with the plates of food and Yasu busy with the ear cuff Massu has on, eyes shining with a bit of envy. Ryo's not surprised to see Koyama and Shige, mildly surprised to find Tsubasa, and downright shocked to come face-to-face with Nagase lounging in the corner, chattering to someone Ryo doesn't know. He assumes that it's one of Massu's personal friends.

There's a hand on his shoulder. Ryo whirls around and almost knocks heads with Tegoshi, who is smiling too big for Ryo to think he's being innocent.

"You came!" Tegoshi says cheerily, maybe a little too amused for Ryo's liking. He can't really do much about it, though, because...well, he _is_ there.

_"It didn't feel like I had a choice,"_ is what Ryo wants to say, except he reels it in and instead goes with a cordial, "I wouldn't miss it!"

Even as the words leave his mouth, he wants to go and crawl into the toilet because he is _such an asshat_ , but Tegoshi just laughs. Really hard, and somewhat shrilly. It's the laugh that Tegoshi gets when something is _really_ amusing.

"I thought you would have gone to Akanishi's party for sure," Tegoshi says once he's done laughing at Ryo's misery. "Have you said hello to everyone yet?"

"No, no, I just got here," Ryo says and for some reason, he's nervous. But then something occurs to him, after he takes a quick sweep of the room and registers the people he recognizes. "Where's Pi?"

"Yamapi?" Tegoshi muses, cocking his head to the side. "I thought he would have been with you, but also assumed you both would have gone to Akanishi's. So I guess he's not coming."

This information actually pisses Ryo off for no reason other than Pi is there and Ryo is here, and that's not how it should work. Besides, Pi was the one who lectured him about spending the bare minimum amount of time here to begin with! How dare he not show up himself?

In the midst of Ryo's tirade to Pi in his mind, Tegoshi takes the present for Massu, sets it aside and presses a beer into his hand. Ryo can appreciate this. He looks around again and this time, Nagase is mandhandling Massu with one arm and Tsubasa with the other, boasting about drinking them both under the table. Ohkura has finally given up trying to be polite and has a plate of food piled high, his face contorting in joyous rapture as he chews. Shige's trying to impress one of Massu's female friends and is actually _succeeding_ , which is some sort of miracle in and of itself. Koyama is appointed as Nagase's beer bitch and Nakamaru and Yasu are mixing things together that looks foul to drink.

Ryo has never felt more uncomfortable in his life.

He excuses himself to the bathroom and pulls out his cell phone, going to speed dial and about to call Pi when his phone starts ringing anyway and he sees that it's Jin. He answers and presses the phone up to his ear quickly. The bass in the background is booming so loud it startles him and he almost drops his phone into the toilet.

"Yo, where you at?"

Ryo doesn't know how to tell Jin that he's at his rival's birthday party. "I'm in the bathroom." (He's proud of that one. It's not actually a lie.)

"Well, hurry up. Pi's here and I can't celebrate without both my boys," Jin shouts, competing with the pounding music in the background. Ryo winces; he's going to wind up deaf by the end of the night if this continues.

"All right, all right," Ryo mutters and hangs up.

He spends the next minute and a half banging his head against the bathroom stall. It actually makes him feel a little better, even if his forehead's now red and angry looking.

 

 

The moment he walks into Lex, Kusano is on him like white on rice. A drink is shoved into his hand, Kusano's squawking in his ear about how everyone was waiting on him, and he shoves Ryo along through the crowd of familiar and unfamiliar faces until they stop at Jin's side.

"Finally! What were you doing in there?" Jin asks. "You could have said hi first."

Ryo doesn't really want him to know that he was in a completely different toilet, so he just shrugs, smiles easily, and responds. "Sorry, there was a line and I really had to go."

Pi rocks up, slinging an arm around Ryo's shoulder. Ryo looks up at him and pauses for a moment before saying anything. There's a slight glimmer in Pi's eyes that usually isn't there, and considering that nothing is ever reflected in Pi's eyes ever, it's more evident that there's something going on that Ryo isn't aware of. "Hey Ryo-chan," Pi says amiably.

"Don't ‘hey’ me," Ryo snaps under his breath. Pi just laughs, like there's no possible way that Ryo is actually angry at him, and the only thing Ryo hates about this is that Pi would be right -- it's practically impossible for him to stay mad at Pi.

There's a flurry of movement; a few girls come into focus, all dolled up, all blonde with fake tans. Jin starts speaking to them in rapidfire English that leaves Ryo reeling, his mind not being able to keep up with the steady flow of a foreign language. He glances at Pi who seems to have zoned out again. He figures that he won't get another chance throughout the rest of the night to ask, so he pulls Pi aside for a second.

"Have you been to Massu's yet?" Ryo asks.

Pi looks puzzled then shakes his head; the scent of his shampoo wafts in the subsequent breeze, a strong sandalwood with zests of lemon. "No."

Ryo gapes at him. "But...you're the one who told me to go and make an appearance!"

"Will you relax? Massu and I have astral projection," Pi says with absolute seriousness. The look fades in about two seconds, though, and Ryo watches his best friend devolve into a fit of giggles, eyes crinkling with laughter. "I saw him earlier today, stop staring at me," Pi decides to clarify a few moments later when he realizes that Ryo is still not too amused by the situation. "Have you gone to wish him happy birthday?"

"I was at the party, yeah -- " Ryo stops short. Pi glances at him, head tilting in question. Ryo looks at him sheepishly. "...I think I forgot to actually say hi to him."

Pi blinks. "You went to his party and you didn't even say hi?"

"It slipped my mind! I think! There was Nakamaru being an idiot and then Tegoshi distracting me, and then I was going to call you but Jin ended up calling me at the exact same time and then I rushed here," Ryo bemoans his fate.

"Hmmm..." Pi mumbles. "Maybe he didn't see you? Then you could just say you were here the entire time."

Ryo blanches. Pi urges him on, so Ryo sighs and rubs at his forehead. "I got him a birthday gift."

Pi stares at Ryo like he's not exactly hearing this right, but there’s nothing to say that makes it less true. Ryo nearly leans forward to try and burrow himself into Pi's chest, but he's not too sure how Pi would feel about that. "Yeah. A belt. The most obnoxious belt in existence, I'm pretty sure. Wrapped up and all pretty. Tegoshi took it and set it aside when I got there."

There's a long, suffering sigh that Ryo thinks is from himself but in actuality, it's Pi. "I see. That’s...a first. A really strange precedent, even.”

“Tell me something I _don’t_ know,” Ryo grumbles.

“I guess you should probably head back, then, and make a proper appearance,” Pi pats Ryo’s shoulder in a gesture of reassurance.

Just as Ryo's about to open his mouth to reply that he really doesn't feel like making the trip back, his phone vibrates in his pocket. He fumbles around and finally grasps it by the strap he keeps on it, pulling it free from his jeans. He flips it open and clicks a few buttons to read the new text message.

It's from Subaru.

_"Nagase gone wild. Send help. ...also ran out of food. Yakisoba should be fine."_

For some reason, the first image Ryo has is Nagase bench-pressing Massu just to show that he can. He's actually a little concerned that in reality, this really isn't out of the question.

Pi nudges him. "Go. I'll distract Jin."

Ryo nods. "Thanks, Pi," he says, then shoves his phone back in his pocket and darts towards the door.

 

 

The scene is barely recognizable when Ryo falls back into Massu's party.

Nagase is _not_ bench-pressing Massu, although he seems to be having a jolly good time with a slew of people Ryo doesn't know -- some of them don't even look like they should be there -- and Ryo guesses that he called Mabo to join in on the festivities as the TOKIO drummer is towering over the entire bar, cooing over the charms on a girl’s cell phone. He's not sure where the 'gone wild' part of Nagase is, but he's sure if he sticks around for more than half an hour this time, he'll probably catch a glimpse for himself. Meanwhile, Massu is no where in sight.

Ryo spins around, trying to find the artificial redhead. He spies Yasu hopping around to the acoustic set the the guy on stage is playing. Shige is teetering everywhere and anywhere, camera in hand, snapping shots that he thinks are artistic and meaningful, even though this is definitely the wrong atmosphere for that. Shige spots him and holds his camera up and Ryo reflexively glares -- the camera flashes. Just another one to add to the growing collection of 'disgruntled Ryo' pictures Yoko keeps for fun.

He then wonders where Subaru is, because the yakisoba is only going to get cold. He pulls Nakamaru aside and asks him where Subaru went, and the beatboxer points vaguely in the direction of the bar. Ryo turns his head and looks, sees Subaru loitering by the bar. For once, he appreciates his good fortune because he was getting a headache and figured that a drink is probably in order.

"Here's your yakisoba," Ryo grouches, tossing the box of food in front of the other man. Subaru merely tips his beer in Ryo's direction, but when Ryo goes to sit in the empty stool next to him, Subaru stops him.

"Tegoshi's sitting there," Subaru says sternly.

"I'll get up when he comes back," Ryo says, sitting down anyway. “Speaking of which, where did he go?"

Subaru pauses. "Ohkura got a little drunk."

"Is he sick?"

Subaru opens the box of yakisoba, cleanly separates the chopsticks and starts digging in. "Not exactly. He thought it would be fun to try and piggy-back on Massu's back. Then he got really affectionate and tried to put a birthday hat on his head."

Ryo nods in understanding -- he is no stranger to Ohkura's strange bouts of affection when drunk. "What does this have to do with Tegoshi?"

"Well," Subaru says evenly, "Massu was taking it all pretty well but -- you know how Ohkura gets. And then Nagase was urging him on, and one thing lead to another -- "

Oh. _Oh._ Oh god, this couldn't possibly end well. Massu hated all that touchy-feely stuff when he wasn't actually forced or coerced into it, and given Nagase's tendency to mandhandle and Ohkura's overly-affectionate drunken self, Ryo really doesn't see how this could have ended well. It’d be like when Massu stopped talking to him for two weeks after he reached for his crotch during that one Live! Live! Live! concert --

" -- but who knew Massu hated people touching his hair? In the struggle, Ohkura accidentally poked Massu in the eye with the pom pom on the birthday hat, so Tegoshi's fawning over him in the bathroom," Subaru finishes. He makes a pleased noise in the back of his throat as he puts his chopsticks down, yakisoba more or less finished. When Ryo doesn't say anything, Subaru rushes to reassure him. "He's not blind or anything, just has a bit of red-eye." Then he looks really pleased with himself. Ryo struggles not to groan -- filming a drama with Taguchi has made Ryo no stranger to terrible, awful wordplay.

At that moment, Ohkura chooses to drape himself over Ryo's back and starts singing some awful American country song in what he thinks is English, but the words are too slurred to be able to tell. Subaru orders a beer for Ryo as Ohkura whines and whimpers feelings of lost love and heartbreak into his neck. He thinks he hears some gurgled Japanese in there, too, and maybe a name, but he can’t really be sure at this point. He gives Subaru an imploring look, only to be rejected for more beer.

 

 

In the hour that Ryo stays before having to leave to go back to Jin's side, Ohkura falls asleep on his shoulder, Nakamaru is trying to teach Koyama how to beatbox, and Ryo's thanking his lucky stars that Nagase has all his clothing on after the initial pants scare. Ryo and Subaru survey the damage, wondering what they should even do about this -- by now, most of the crowd in the bar realize they're Johnny's and the vying for attention starts. The word is probably being spread through the internet as they all continue to mingle and have fun, and Ryo knows they need to get out of there and preferably soon, but Tegoshi feels different. In fact, Tegoshi just smiles sweetly at everyone and tells them to, matter-of-factly, go away; Ryo wishes that he could be like Tegoshi and let all the inevitable naysaying in the morning roll off his back, but no one else is better equipped to deal with the media than Tegoshi is. After all, there is very little anyone could do when faced with an angelic smile coupled with an equally lethal voice defending his actions. He can hear it in his mind -- _"It's nice everyone wanted to be with us, but birthdays should be intimate, don't you think?"_ The crowd feels bad for intruding on such a private moment, the interviewer murmurs their assent, and it’ll all die down. Easy as cake.

Ryo realizes that Tegoshi probably has a scenario and a subsequent plan in place for every obstacle that they could come across. He's not sure why but as soon as he's safe in his cab, on his way back to Lex, he gets it.

Massu would have never even let him throw a party for him if Tegoshi hadn't thought everything through. Because Massu's boundaries between his personal life and his idol life are kilometers wide, never destined to touch if he could help it.

For some reason, he's jealous that out of all of them, Tegoshi gets Massu the most. This is unreasonable, he tells himself, because it's a bit obvious as to why the youngest knows all the ins and outs of Massu, and it's not really like Ryo has been exactly forthcoming with the invitations to hang out, although he does notice he's more prone to it these days than years before. But they’re a group, aren’t they? They’ve gone through their rough periods, they trust each other, and Ryo likes to think that, after the grueling schedules and workload, having a second group to come home to is kind of nice. 

And he also thinks he really has to hand it to Massu, being able to keep the two facets of his life so completely separate up to today. It's natural to try to keep everything separate, not wanting the two to overlap, but it's _hard_ trying to control these things. Ryo knows how the fallout feels himself -- classmates cutting off contact due to their jealousy, neighborhood friends he barely remembers the names of as he got busier and busier. Eventually, the friends that stay are other celebrities, other idols -- they're in the exact same position, they understand without needing the words to explain. But just from his few collective hours at Massu's party, he can see that this isn't the case for Massu, and probably was never the case for him. There's more of his personal friends at the party than those from the jimusho, all of them completely undaunted when faced with the glitzy and glamorous side of Massu's life. Those are the people who know Massu the absolute best. Tegoshi's probably only scratched the surface of Massu in comparison. Only around them will any of them be able to see the side of Massu that he keeps private.

Suddenly, he has the urge to tell the cabbie to turn around and take him back, but it's moot since he's back at Lex already. He gets out and pays the fare, slamming the car door behind him. He knows he has to go back, but he thinks he needs to explain the situation in its entirety first.

He wanders back into Lex. The strobe lights are going strong, jarring his vision, making everything skip a beat. It's easy to pick out his area of relevance, though -- Taguchi's impossible to miss, being taller than the entirety of Japan. He shoves through the crowd and tugs on Jin's arm, leading him away from whatever embellished story Yoko's telling.

"What's going on?" Jin asks after he takes in how disheveled Ryo looks.

"I gotta go," Ryo blurts out.

Jin gapes. "But you've barely been here all night!"

Ryo cringes. "I know, I know, and normally I'd stay but it's -- "

"Masuda, right?" Jin cuts him off.

It's Ryo's turn to gape.

Jin actually laughs then, reaching out and closing Ryo's mouth for him. "Pi told me. I think there's more to it than that, but you know how Pi starts to ramble about nothing after awhile," Jin says. "It's cool, kid, we always hang. You and Masuda barely do."

Ryo still doesn't know what to say. Jin sighs and smacks him. "Ow!"

"Are you getting this? Do I have to repeat myself?" Jin says. "Go, it's fine. I like Masuda. If this was someone I didn't like, then it'd be unforgivable."

It takes for all of this to process in Ryo's mind. Eventually, the only thing he says is, "You _are_ capable of not being an ass!"

Jin soundly shoves Ryo out the entrance. "Just don't be jealous that I get Pi all to myself tonight," he calls over his shoulder; soon, he disappears into the crowded halls and dance floors of Lex.

Ryo just turns and flags down a taxi.

 

 

“You know you didn’t actually have to come, right?”

The voice is Tegoshi’s but Ryo’s staring at Massu instead, who’s trying to hide just how pleased he is that Ryo came. Nothing really registers until Tegoshi repeats himself, accompanied with a wave of a hand in front of his face.

“Say what?” Ryo ventures.

Tegoshi laughs. “That message for you was totally a joke! I figured you were going to do your traditional text message and then leave it at that. We were all pretty surprised you showed, honestly.”

Which...well, makes sense. It at least explains why Nakamaru had stared at him like he was some freak.

There is a smile, though, and from Massu, even if he’s just trying to make Ryo feel better. “I really do appreciate you coming, though! Though I thought it was weird that I had a gift from you but hadn’t even see you all night...”

“Yeah...I don’t know, I thought I could get away with hopping back and forth between parties, but that didn’t really go so well. Looks like you’re stuck with me, buta,” Ryo shrugs. They clink their drink glasses together and this time, Ryo holds on to his cup, fairly certain he’ll be needing it the rest of the night.

“Maybe Akanishi-kun and I could have a joint party next year,” Massu muses. Ryo stops to think about this possibility.

He thinks about Ohkura passed out, occupying four chairs lined up in a row. There’s Nagase and Mabo playing drunken darts with a gaggle of girls. There’s Taguchi and Yoko, who really need no explanation. He’s not sure if Kusano’s ego would even fit through the doorway. There’s Tegoshi and Jin’s thinly veiled animosity. Yasu would probably cry at the drop of any unhappiness going on and no doubt he’d cling to Koyama in its wake. Ryo stops thinking about it after this -- this sounds like a damn nightmare.

“Just kidding,” Massu beams.

Ryo takes a swig of his beer. “Maybe you can teach me that astral projection thing you and Pi do in time for next year.”

Massu looks confused for a few moments, long enough for Ryo to think that maybe Pi was just shooting the shit and making stuff up, but then Massu seems to catch on to what he’s saying. “Oh, I guess that’s code,” Massu coughs a little. Ryo pats his back. “No offense, Ryo-chan, but I think you’d be really bad at it.”

Before he gets a chance to retaliate -- Ryo is awesome at _everything_ , okay, and nothing says otherwise --, Tsubasa’s calling Massu over for something or other. Massu politely excuses himself and turns on his heel, hair twirling around him. It almost hits Ryo in the face. He pulls back, scrunches his nose, sniffs as a few strands tickle his skin. The scent’s a little comforting; safe, strong, with a zing. Citrus of a sort.

It’s too late; he already has a swig of beer in his mouth when his mind connects all the weird things about Pi and Massu together -- astral projection being code, Pi having already seen Massu today, Pi being in bed at four in the afternoon with shady background noises...

He spits out his beer, a mess of shock and bewilderment.

Fortunately, Nakamaru is the only one caught in the spray.


End file.
